Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › District of Columbia › The National Bank of Washington
What happened to The National Bank of Washington?
The National Bank of Washington in Washington, DC failed, and The Riggs National Bank of Washington, D. C. of Mclean, VA took it over on Aug 10, 1990. The chain runs 1 step further and ends with no operating bank.
The chain, step by step
From the day it opened to the last entry on record. Each step is one entry in the FDIC's record.
- 1809The National Bank of Washington opens in Washington, DC
- Aug 10, 1990FAILEDThe National Bank of Washington failed, and The Riggs National Bank of Washington, D. C. of Mclean, VA took it over.FDIC certificate 2092 ends; its business continues under certificate 2095.
- May 16, 2005CLOSEDThe Riggs National Bank of Washington, D. C. (by then renamed Riggs Bank National Association) of Mclean, VA closed voluntarily. It did not fail.FDIC certificate 2095 ends.
- NO SUCCESSOR BANK
The FDIC record ends here. No operating bank carries this charter today.
If you still have something from The National Bank of Washington
A lien that was never released
The National Bank of Washington failed on Aug 10, 1990. For a failed bank placed in FDIC receivership, the FDIC may be able to issue the lien release, if the loan was paid off to the bank before it failed or to the FDIC afterward. The FDIC says that where a failed bank had an acquirer, its records in most cases went to that acquirer.
Requests go through the FDIC Information and Support Center with the recorded mortgage or title, and proof of payoff. The FDIC says to allow 30 business days once it has every document, and does not take requests by phone or email. Questions: FDIC Resolution Inquiries, 888-206-4662, 8am–4pm Central on weekdays.
An old account, passbook or CD
When a healthy bank assumes a failed bank's deposits, insured depositors become its customers right away (here, The Riggs National Bank of Washington, D. C.).
This failure is older than the current federal rule on unclaimed deposits (mid-1993), so different rules apply. Search FDIC unclaimed funds search, search the unclaimed-property program of the state of the owner's last known address on the bank's records, and ask FDIC Resolution Inquiries at 888-206-4662 what applies to this institution.
A safe deposit box
The FDIC says that when a healthy bank assumes a failed bank's deposits, the branches usually reopen the next business day with box access. A box abandoned for years may have been turned over to the state's unclaimed-property program.
Box contents are not covered by FDIC insurance.
Not sure this is your bank?
Many banks shared a name. Match the city and the years above against your paperwork, or search again with the town.
Credit unions were never FDIC-insured and are not in this record; the NCUA credit union lookup covers those. Banks that closed before about 1970 are not in the FDIC's list either.
This page is drawn from FDIC records and federal guidance. It is not legal advice, and BankBranches is not a bank or a government office. More detail: lien releases · old passbooks and CDs · safe deposit boxes · unclaimed money.
Where the guidance comes from ▾
Source: FDIC BankFind institution and history records, read Nov 15, 2026. The FDIC's list covers banks that ended in about 1970 or later. Look up certificate 2092 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.